Abstract

Informed by the interdisciplinarity inherent in popular music studies, the thesis
relies on qualitative research methods such as participant observation and semistructured
interview to examine popular music masculinities. Methodologically, it
is underpinned by a sociological understanding of music as practice as well as a
process of enculturation, permeated by manifold musical and identity forming
activities. Through an examination of a range of music settings such as those of
"the band", live performance and online presence, the thesis foregrounds the
multiplicity of "everyday" musical masculinities thus shifting the focus away from
the most visible, popularised and the spectacular masculine types.
The key themes addressed by ethnographic and participatory inquiry include:
gender acculturating activities such as listening and collecting of musical
knowledge and artefacts, and socialising in popular music spaces; gendering
through musical practices inherent within a setting of the band; performing live
and authenticating masculinities through series of verbal, visual and musical
strategies; and embracing novel representational tools such as social networking
sites to increase the band's visibility and represent the male body. By engaging
with music as practice and music in context of everyday life, and by
understanding gender as constituted through a series of culturally and musically
informed activities, the thesis demonstrates that a wide range of masculine
gender identities comprise creative and cultural dynamics within bands.
Finally, the thesis maintains the dialogue with the existing writing on gender
within the field of popular music studies, extending the arguments about
multiplicity of gender positions and implications of gendering activities.
Significantly, it challenges the understanding of popular music masculinity as a
monolithic entity, providing an opening for further dialogue between all musicians,
hoping to result in enhanced understanding of practical and ideological
challenges faced by both men and women involved in the making and
performance of music.